It's Only The Beginning
by Nilaraniel
Summary: Victoria's first year at Hogwarts!
1. Default Chapter

This story begins the day that four young friends received their letters of acceptance from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They gathered together late that afternoon at Victoria's house, chatting nonstop, wishing the next few weeks were already over so they could start at school.

"My dad was in Gryffindor, and I just know that's where I'm going to end up. He was the first wizard in my family, you know." Maddie bragged as she plopped down on the couch next to Victoria. "What about you Freddie, didn't you say your brothers are in Gryffindor?"

            Freddie nodded as he stuffed a hand full of chips into his mouth. "Uh huh. Well…" He finished chewing before continuing. "Joseph and Marty are in Gryffindor, but poor Sam, he ended up in Slytherin somehow." Everyone's nose wrinkled in disgust at hearing the name Slytherin. "He hasn't been the same since he came back from his first year." He reached for more chips. "But Joe and Marty know THE Harry Potter! They of course are starting their fifth and sixth years, but they still know him!"

            At this Victoria felt herself blush. Edwina noticed and laughed. "Victoria, you're not in LOVE with Harry Potter are you?!" She giggled as Victoria's cheeks turned a more vibrant pink.

            "Of course she is! You've seen his picture on her bedside table! How did you get that picture anyway?" Maddie turned to Victoria, waiting for an answer. She did not answer though, only glanced up at Freddie who smiled. 

            "Fine don't tell us. But you do think you'll be in Gryffindor with us, right?" Edwina leaned back in her chair, looking expectantly at Victoria.

            "There's no doubt in my mind! Everyone on my dad's side that's been to Hogwarts has been in Gryffindor and they've been going there since it was first started." She smiled proudly. "Of course nobody on my mom's side has been to Hogwarts as she's from America." 

            "Then it's settled. We'll all be in Gryffindor together! And Victoria can finally meet Harry Potter, eh?" Maddie grinned at Victoria again, who immediately looked down and began to blush all over again.


	2. Chapter Two

During the next week, Victoria MacKenna and her parents took a short trip to London to visit Diagon Alley. It was here that they would buy the supplies Victoria would need to start at Hogwarts. Having bought nearly everything on her list, Victoria and her parents headed to Ollivanders where she would purchase her very first wand. 

            "Honey, are you sure you don't want a new owl as well?" Her mother asked as they passed a shop full of hooting owls. Victoria looked up at her mother in shock. "Of course not! Feldon is coming with me!" She had owned Feldon, an aging White-faced Scops Owl since she was a young girl and she loved him dearly. Just the thought of buying a new owl to take his place at Hogwarts almost brought tears to her eyes. Luckily, as they continued on their way something caught her eye. "Ooooh, would you look at that?" She pressed her hands against the window, staring in at the broomstick. "Nimbus Two Thousand and One… Now that's something I wouldn't mind having!" She stared at it as she heard her mother sigh. "Victoria it was only last Christmas we got you a Nimbus Two Thousand. You don't need a new one every year." 

            "But mom, this one's way better than my rickety old one!" She turned to her mother, a pleading look on her face.

            Shaking her head, her mother led the way to Ollivanders, holding the door open for her now cross daughter.

            "Ahhh the MacKenna's…" Mr. Ollivander himself was standing behind the counter of his store as though he had been expecting them. Victoria stood in front of the counter, her mood changed to one of amazement, looking up at all the boxes of wands covering every last inch of shelf. Her parents talked for a moment to Mr. Ollivander before she felt his eyes on her. She looked up to him shyly.

            "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, young Miss MacKenna. A very special time this is for you." He studied her a moment before heading off, leaving her feeling just a bit nervous. He returned soon enough, opening a box and handing her a wand. "This one is made of the finest holly…eleven inches with a unicorn hair at its core. Go ahead, try it out." Victoria looked nervously up at her father, then her mother before taking the wand, swallowing hard. Turning around, she swished it a bit but nothing happened. She frowned in disappointment.

            "Hmm definitely not the one for you." Mr. Ollivander walked around the counter, taking the wand from her and hurrying to another corner of the store to grab another box. "Ahhh yes. Beech, eleven and a half inches, feather of a phoenix." He stopped in front of Victoria, handing her the wand. She took it and waved it, watching as the glass pane in the door burst outward into the street, scattering into a thousand pieces. Wincing, she handed the wand back to Mr. Ollivander. "Sorry about that…" He hurried away again, not at all worried about the broken window. "Worse things have happened! I do believe I know exactly what you need." She looked up to her parents again, who were smiling down at her. "Ahhh yes…." He came back and handed her a beautifully colored wand. She took it gingerly in her hand and she looked down at it. "Made of Yew, this one is, with a handle of Ebony. Thirteen inches, dragon heartstring." She gave it a flick and watched in amazement as a breeze of fresh air swept through the store, causing the candles to flicker. Just as quickly as it had come, the breeze was gone and Mr. Ollivander had taken the wand back and began to wrap it for her. "I do not doubt you will accomplish great things with this wand!" He gave her a friendly smile as he handed her the wrapped box. "Enjoy your first year at Hogwarts my dear."

            The family stayed the night at a local inn before heading home bright and early the next morning. Victoria talked non-stop about Hogwarts the moment she got in the car. "Dad, how old were you when you got on the Quidditch team?" She asked, when they were nearly halfway home. 

            "I didn't get on the team until my third year. But after our first match, they regretted not having me earlier. Said I was the best Keeper they'd had in at least a decade. We won 220 to 0. None of the Slytherins could look the Gryffindors in the face for weeks!" He laughed at the memory.

            "I don't think I'll ever get on the team. At least not until the Weasley twins leave. I've heard how good they are!"

            "You might be the best Beater out of the kids at home, but you're an even better Seeker, you know." Her mother had turned in her seat to look back at Victoria. She felt her cheeks get hot as her mother turned back again.

            "Mom, you know just as well as I do who Gryffindor's Seeker is. I could never replace…Har…him."

            "Ohhh that Harry Potter. I hear he's such a nice young man. And a cute one too." She turned to glance at Victoria again, a grin on her face. "You make sure to be sweet to him, you never know what might…"

            "MOM!!!" Victoria was quick to interrupt her mom. If arranged marriages were still the style, her mother would have found a way to have her and Harry betrothed at birth.

            Her father laughed again. "No, you watch out for him. If he is as much like James as they say, he'll always have a knack for finding trouble."

            Sighing heavily and rolling her eyes, Victoria stared out the window, hoping for silence until they got home.


	3. Chapter Three

The day had come at last. The morning had flown by in a whirl and now Victoria was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, unable and unwilling to wipe the grin from her face. She had just said goodbye to her parents, telling them she'd send Feldon to them right after the feast, telling them how wonderful it was to finally be at Hogwarts.

            She sat by the window, watching the other students come onboard when she heard a familiar voice. "Victoria! There you are!" Maddie burst into the compartment, sitting across from Victoria. "Isn't it wonderful? I can't believe we're finally here." She noticed Victoria still staring out the window and raised an eyebrow. "You're looking for him aren't you?" Victoria turned to Maddie, a look of disbelieve on her face. "Looking for who?" Maddie started to answer, but stopped when another familiar form popped in.

            "Hello." It was Freddie this time. He stopped in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "Mind if I join you ladies?" He grinned at them, pleased to see them smile in return…yet it wasn't him they were smiling at… Not a second later, Freddie was lying face down on the floor. He quickly got up, turning to his attacker. "What's the big idea, Sam?" Maddie and Victoria stifled laughs as Freddie prepared to fight his older brother Sam, now a third year. Sam simply smirked and entered the compartment across from them, sitting opposite three boys who were laughing hysterically. 

            Freddie gathered his things and sat next to Victoria, glaring at the still laughing boys across the way. Victoria stood to close the door, pausing a moment to look at the blonde headed boy sitting across from Sam. He absently returned her gaze, a nasty smirk still on his face. She frowned slightly at him, but could not bring her eyes away from his until he looked back to Sam who was still laughing. Shutting the door, she returned to her seat. "Who are those guys?" She asked, watching Freddie rub his wrist. 

            "The one in the middle is Draco, you know, Lucius Malfoy's rotten son. I don't know the other two, but they're all part of that dirty Slytherin bunch obviously." He stuck his arms out, pulling his robes back in place. "So where has Edwina gotten off to?" He looked up to the two girls, an expression of curiosity on his face.

            "I haven't seen her, but we should be leaving soon. It would be just like her to miss the train though, wouldn't it?" They all peered out the large window, scanning the platform below. Just then they heard her airy voice...

            "Oh you're Freddie's brother aren't you? Have you seen him or Victoria or…" Before she could continue, Maddie had flung the compartment door open and grabbed Edwina, pulling her down onto the empty seat next to her. "You dolt!" She closed the door again, shutting out most of the Slytherin laughter. "You don't want to be seen talking with those filthy Slytherins, do you?" 

            Edwina simply grinned, though still looking a little shocked from being jerked out of the hallway. "So, Victoria, have you seen him yet? I sure haven't, but I've been looking! We'll see him soon enough I suppose, huh? I'm going to be SO jealous when everybody starts talking in class about you and him and calling you MRS. Harry Potter!" It was then that they felt the train begin to move out of the station. Edwina giggled, though she was the only one in their company who found herself funny.

            "You're such a ditz!" Maddie frowned. She rolled her eyes at Freddie and Victoria before quickly changing the subject. Victoria mouthed a "thank you" before looking out the window and watching as the train slowly left the station.

            Throughout the train ride, the four stayed in their compartment, talking amongst themselves. Victoria glanced out the window every now and then, watching as the countryside passed by. But mostly she kept her eyes focused outside the compartment. Older students passed by from time to time, talking and laughing with each other. Trying not to be too obvious, she watched the boy named Draco. He was sitting between two very large boys, but he seemed to speak to Freddie's brother Sam most of the time. The sounds of their laughter could be heard from where Victoria sat and she wondered if he would ever look up and catch her eye again…but he didn't. Eventually shrugging off the strange feeling inside her, Victoria joined in the conversation between her friends and before long they had arrived at their destination.

            By the time she and her friends managed to make their way out of the train compartment, the boys across the way were already gone. They trudged off the train and onto the platform, immediately noticing the rather large man calling the first years over to him. Victoria looked to Freddie, a smile on her face. "That's Hagrid, isn't it?" He shrugged and returned her smile. "That's my guess. Let's hope all the adults here aren't that huge."

            They followed Hagrid down to a lake where they were led aboard small boats. The trip across was truly magical and nothing could compare to the feelings that rushed through Victoria as she took her first glimpse of Hogwarts Castle from the lake. A broad smile crossed her face, a smile she thought would never disappear. She reminded herself that it was about to get even better, though that was hard to believe.


	4. Chapter Four

Victoria, Maddie, Edwina and Freddie, though looking up in awe at everything around them, managed to stick together as they were led through Hogwarts Castle to where the feast would be held. The first years entered the Great Hall to find the rest of the school already seated at their house tables. They were stopped in front of a long table where the school's teachers sat watching them. On a small stool sat an old and dirty looking hat, the Sorting Hat. Looking to each other and grinning, the four friends clasped their hands in front of them, doing their best to remain calm and quiet. 

            Luckily, they did not have to wait long for things to begin. Before they knew it, names were being called to come up and be sorted.

            "Ash, Marcus." A black-headed boy made his way up first, sitting on the stool and having the hat placed on his head. After a few seconds of nervous silence from the other first years, the hat yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" Freddie spoke to Victoria behind his hand as the announcement was made. "Ouch, tough break. And the first one had to be a Slytherin…"

            A smug expression on his face, the newest member of Slytherin house made his way over to his table, greeted with much applause.

            "Brass, Edwina!" Grinning broadly, Edwina made her way up to the stool, her anxious and excited friends urging her on. She sat down and after what seemed like ages, the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" With a squeal of delight, Edwina skipped down, hugged her friends in passing and cheerfully made her way to the clapping and yelling Gryffindor table. Victoria took this moment to look for Harry…

            "I looked on the way in. He's not here." Maddie whispered to her as the next name was called.

            "Fatescuro, Alexander."

            "I wonder where he could be? Do you think he…just didn't come back?" Victoria whispered in response.

            "SLYTHERIN!" They looked up as yet another Slytherin was called.

            "Hathaway, Frederick." Maddie shook her head to answer Victoria's question as Freddie made his way up. Victoria took a look back to the Gryffindor table to see Edwina giggling at a second year boy who was whispering to her.

            "GRYFFINDOR!" Freddie hopped down from the stool, a lopsided grin on his face as he passed his friends. Victoria got to thinking about where Harry could possibly be… She heard the students names called, heard the Sorting Hat's decisions and the clapping from the houses, but she wasn't paying attention to that anymore… She hoped something wasn't wrong with him...

            "MacKenna, Victoria!" She felt Maddie pushing her. "Go!! You're the next Gryffindor!" Fully realizing what was about to happen, Victoria forgot all about the famous Harry Potter and made her way up to the stool. She sat down and smiled broadly as she met the eager and smiling eyes of each of her friends; two already seated at the Gryffindor table and one waiting impatiently to be sorted. Freddie and Edwina pointed to the empty seat between them that they had saved for her, causing her to smile even more, if that were possible. Next thing she knew the hat was on her head…

            "Well then, what have we here? A bright young girl…very ambitious and independent. You certainly have the willpower to go far! Yes…very far. I do believe that you will achieve all of your goals in…"

            She closed her eyes tightly then, waiting for what was definitely the very best moment of her life to date. "Gryffinfor, Gryffindor!!" She said it over and over in her head, feeling as though she were about to burst with happiness.

            "SLYTHERIN!" The applause began immediately and her eyes quickly popped open. Freddie and Edwina looked as though they had begun to clap, though their hands seemed to be frozen in mid air, shocked expressions on their faces. She must not have heard correctly, and they were obviously confused. Had the Sorting Hat not spoken clearly? Looking to Maddie she mouthed, "Gryffindor?" Maddie shook her head slowly, a look of horror on her face.

            The professor behind her prodded her to stand. "Go on now, go sit at your table. The others are waiting." She felt the weight of the hat removed from her head, and taking one last look at her shocked friends, she slowly and reluctantly made her way to the Slytherin table. Everybody was smiling and clapping as she took her seat. 

            "Shocked to find yourself in the best house at the school? You should be proud." The second year boy next to her spoke and she looked up at him, recognizing him immediately. Malfoy…

            He smirked at her before looking back up to the unsorted first years. She watched the rest of the first years in silence, listening to the cheers that arose each time a new Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor was announced. The table around her began to fill as new Slytherins joined. Soon enough she was surrounded. Only minutes ago this would have been an unfathomable nightmare. Now it seemed all too real. She pinched her leg under the table, just to make sure. "Ow…"

            "GRYFFINDOR!" She watched as her best friend Maddie left the stool, only able to muster a small smile as she joined the rest of her house. She immediately began whispering to Freddie and Edwina. A few minutes later the last student had been sorted, and after she had joined the Ravenclaw table, Dumbledore made his announcements and the feast began. The most glorious foods magically appeared in front of them, drawing "Ooohs" and "Ahhs" from the students around the hall.

            Victoria ate nothing as she tried to block out the conversation around her. She heard malicious remarks from Malfoy pertaining to Harry and his two friends Ron and Hermione, all of which received laughs and cackles from the nearby students. They had noticed that Harry was not there, and were all the happier for it. Nobody seemed to want to talk to her, which was lucky. She felt if she were forced to speak she might burst into tears. This wasn't how her first night at Hogwarts was supposed to be.


End file.
